Servant of God ‘Fr. Zechariah of St. Teresa’ now venerable

Vatican City, 27 January 2014: Pope Francis has authorized on Monday the Congregation for the Causes of saints to promulgate decrees concerning the heroic virtues of 8 ‘Servants of God’. The authorization came at a private audience in which the Pontiff received Cardinal Angelo Amato SDB, prefect of the Congregation.

Among them is servant of God - now venerable - Zechariah of St. Teresa, a professed priest of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. He was born on November 5, 1887 in Abadiano, Spain, and died on May 23, 1957 in Vellore, in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, India.

The other seven new Venerables are:The martyrdom of the Servant of God Pietro Asùa Mendìa, diocesan priest; born in Valmaseda (Vizcaya, Spain) on 30 August 1890, killed in hatred of the faith in Liendo (Santander, Spain) on 29 August 1936;

The heroic virtues of the Servant of God Giuseppe Girelli, diocesan priest; born in Dossobuono (Verona, Italy) on 10 January 1886, died in Negrar (Verona, Italy) on 1 May 1978;

The heroic virtues of the Servant of God Marcella Mallet, Founder of the Québec Sisters of Charity; born in Cote des-Neiges (Montreal, Canada) on 26 March 1805, died in Québec (Canada) on 9 April 1871;

The heroic virtues of the Servant of God Maria Benedetta Arias, Founder of the Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament; born in La Carlota di Rio Cuarto (Cordova, Argentina) on 3 April 1822, died in Buenos Aires (Argentina) on 25 September 1894;

The heroic virtues of Margherita of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (nee Virginia De Brincat), Founder of the Franciscans Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; born in Kercem, on the Island of Gozo (Malta) on 28 November 1862, died in Victoria, on the Island of Gozo (Malta) on 22 January 1952;

The heroic virtues of the Servant of God Serafina (nee Noemy Cinque), nun of the Congregation of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ; born in Urucuritiba (Brazil) on 31 January 1913, died in Manaus (Brazil) on 21 October 1988;

The heroic virtues of the Servant of God Elisabetta Sanna, lay widow, member of the Third Order of Saint Francis, and of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate founded by Saint Vincent Pallotti; born in Codrongianos (Sassari, Italy) on 23 April 1788, died in Rome on 17 February 1857.Source: VR Sedoc